The instant invention relates to drive apparatus and more particularly to a drive apparatus having a drive shaft and a plurality of outputs therefrom, and wherein at least one of the outputs consists of a driven shaft oriented perpendicular to the drive shaft and being adjustable along the length of the drive shaft.
There are many applications in which a drive shaft is used for power take-off for a plurality of driven gears and shafts. Spur gears and bevel gears are commonly used to provide multiple power take-offs from a single drive shaft to other shafts or pulleys or gears. In many of these applications, it is frequently desirable to be able to translate a driven shaft oriented perpendicular to the drive shaft along the length of the drive shaft without interfering with any of the other driven gears, pulleys or shafts. Such an application is presented by an envelope turner in which it is desirable to be able to position the turning device according to the size of the envelope being turned. The instant invention therefore provides a flexible drive apparatus which allows at least one driven shaft oriented perpendicular to the drive shaft to be translated along the length of the drive shaft without interference with any of the other driven portions of the drive apparatus.